Wairarapa is a fantastic area of New Zealand for microlight flying whether you are based here or just passing through. There is a large variety of ML flyers and machines based here and I am going to use this page over time to introduce you to some of the things that we are doing here and to, hopefully, encourage you to come and join in.

I am going to use this microlight page to show you a little about our sport and what we get up to. (Pun intended).

Who am I? Mike Bennett. I have been flying one thing or another since around 1980. I moved to Hood Aerodrome over anywhere I could choose in NZ some time around 1991 specifically for the flying that this part NZ can offer. I am a RAANZ Senior Instructor if you need some pointers in how to get started.

Summer Mischief 2013

Last summer a couple of us ( Wally ‘Pelican’ Pendray and I ) had a great adventure over to Durville Island where we met up with some of the Motueka Microlight people for a barbecue breakfast. The Department of Conservation maintain a great camping ground, with airstrip, there that can be reached only by plane or boat.

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A few weeks later a group of Microlights from Fielding and a couple from Hood made a 4-5 day trip down to Gore for the annual RAANZ fly-in. Three aircraft took the opportunity to go down the east, take the amazingly scenic route through the Hollyford valley (who could even consider a road or a gondola there ?!!? ) and back via the West Coast.

porirua

Introduction

Here is beautiful machine being flown out of Hood Aerodrome by by Bill McWilliam. I’ll leave it to Bill to introduce us to his mistress …….

My Titan Mustang named Mis’Stress has been based at Hood Aerodrome for the past five years.

Powered by a Rotax 914 Turbo. I find this aircraft a joy to fly as it is very responsive and light on the controls.
The turbo gives good power boost on take off and climb up to fourteen thousand feet.

Yes, indeed, the Mis’Stress is a Microlight aircraft. I’ll show you one or two at the ‘other end of the scale’ some time soon. Thanks for sharing the pictures Bill. To close off for today I would like to share a little of the beauty of being up there on your own. This picture is the view of the last stretch home towards Hood Aerodrome in the evening. It was taken at about 4,500 feet shortly after crossing the ranges and leaving Ohakea airspace heading SE. The aerodrome is approximately 20 miles ahead beneath the nose.